613 research outputs found
Biotechnology to develop innovative syntheses using CO2
We present an overview of possible biotechnological applications for using carbon dioxide for the synthesis of chemicals. These approaches are very appealing as they contribute to the implementation of new synthetic methodologies that reduce waste and make a better use of carbon and energy. Several synthetic approaches will be considered including both the incorporation of the whole COO moiety or its reduction to other C1 molecules. Each option will be discussed making a comparison between the natural and artificial process in order to highlight the possibility to learn from Nature and develop useful mimetic or enzymatic systems
Shedding Light On Dark Pools: Recent Regulatory Attempts Toward Transparency And Oversight Of Alternative Trading Systems
The article focuses on dark pools wherein a small group of investors engage in investments among themselves bypassing the ordinary mode of use of stock exchanges. In additional, a brief discussion of high speed trading is included. Pros and cons of dark pools, and their regulation are highlighted .together with future regulatory trends
Synthesis and characterization of p-n junction ternary mixed oxides for photocatalytic coprocessing of CO2 and H2O
In the present paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of both binary (Cu2 O, Fe2 O3, and In2 O3 ) and ternary (Cu2 O-Fe2 O3 and Cu2 O-In2 O3 ) transition metal mixed-oxides that may find application as photocatalysts for solar driven CO2 conversion into energy rich species. Two different preparation techniques (High Energy Milling (HEM) and Co-Precipitation (CP)) are compared and materials properties are studied by means of a variety of characterization and analytical techniques UV-Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-VIS DRS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Energy Dispersive X-Ray spectrometry (EDX). Appropriate data elaboration methods are used to extract materials bandgap for Cu2 O@Fe2 O3 and Cu2 O@In2 O3 prepared by HEM and CP, and foresee whether the newly prepared semiconductor mixed oxides pairs are useful for application in CO2-H2 O coprocessing. The experimental results show that the synthetic technique influences the photoactivity of the materials that can correctly be foreseen on the basis of bandgap experimentally derived. Of the mixed oxides prepared and described in this work, only Cu2 O@In2 O3 shows positive results in CO2-H2 O photo-co-processing. Preliminary results show that the composition and synthetic methodologies of mixed-oxides, the reactor geometry, the way of dispersing the photocatalyst sample, play a key role in the light driven reaction of CO2 âH2 O. This work is a rare case of full characterization of photo-materials, using UV-Visible DRS, XPS, XRD, TEM, EDX for the surface and bulk analytical characterization. Surface composition may not be the same of the bulk composition and plays a key role in photocatalysts behavior. We show that a full material knowledge is necessary for the correct forecast of their photocatalytic behavior, inferred from experimentally determined bandgaps
Well-posedness for a class of nonlinear degenerate parabolic equations
In this paper we obtain well-posedness for a class of semilinear weakly
degenerate reaction-diffusion systems with Robin boundary conditions. This
result is obtained through a Gagliardo-Nirenberg interpolation inequality and
some embedding results for weighted Sobolev spaces
Effects of Synaptic and Myelin Plasticity on Learning in a Network of Kuramoto Phase Oscillators
Models of learning typically focus on synaptic plasticity. However, learning
is the result of both synaptic and myelin plasticity. Specifically, synaptic
changes often co-occur and interact with myelin changes, leading to complex
dynamic interactions between these processes. Here, we investigate the
implications of these interactions for the coupling behavior of a system of
Kuramoto oscillators. To that end, we construct a fully connected,
one-dimensional ring network of phase oscillators whose coupling strength
(reflecting synaptic strength) as well as conduction velocity (reflecting
myelination) are each regulated by a Hebbian learning rule. We evaluate the
behavior of the system in terms of structural (pairwise connection strength and
conduction velocity) and functional connectivity (local and global
synchronization behavior). We find that for conditions in which a system
limited to synaptic plasticity develops two distinct clusters both structurally
and functionally, additional adaptive myelination allows for functional
communication across these structural clusters. Hence, dynamic conduction
velocity permits the functional integration of structurally segregated
clusters. Our results confirm that network states following learning may be
different when myelin plasticity is considered in addition to synaptic
plasticity, pointing towards the relevance of integrating both factors in
computational models of learning.Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures This work is submitted in Chaos: An
Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Scienc
OptoâElectronic Characterization of Photocatalysts Based on p,nâJunction Ternary and Quaternary Mixed Oxides Semiconductors (Cu2OâIn2O3 and Cu2OâIn2O3âTiO2)
Semiconductor materials are the basis of electronic devices employed in the communication and media industry. In the present work, we report the synthesis and characterization of mixed metal oxides (MOs) as p,nâjunction photocatalysts, and demonstrate the correlation between the preparation technique and the properties of the materials. Solidâstate UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UVâVIS DRS) allowed for the determination of the light absorption properties and the optical energy gap. Xâray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) allowed for the determination of the surface speciation and composition and for the determination of the valence band edge. The optoâelectronic behavior was evaluated measuring the photocurrent generated after absorption of chopped visible light in a 3âelectrode cell. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements allowed for auxiliary characterization of size and morphology, showing the formation of composites for the ternary Cu2OâIn2O3 p,nâmixed oxide, and even more for the quaternary Cu2OâIn2O3âTiO2 MO. Light absorption spectra and photocurrentâtime curves mainly depend upon the composition of MOs, while the optical energy gap and defective absorption tail are closely related to the preparation methodology, time and thermal treatment. Qualitative electronic band structures of semiconductors are also presented
Fluid Flows of Mixed Regimes in Porous Media
In porous media, there are three known regimes of fluid flows, namely,
pre-Darcy, Darcy and post-Darcy. Because of their different natures, these are
usually treated separately in literature. To study complex flows when all three
regimes may be present in different portions of a same domain, we use a single
equation of motion to unify them. Several scenarios and models are then
considered for slightly compressible fluids. A nonlinear parabolic equation for
the pressure is derived, which is degenerate when the pressure gradient is
either small or large. We estimate the pressure and its gradient for all time
in terms of initial and boundary data. We also obtain their particular bounds
for large time which depend on the asymptotic behavior of the boundary data but
not on the initial one. Moreover, the continuous dependence of the solutions on
initial and boundary data, and the structural stability for the equation are
established.Comment: 33 page
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